TLC Ent. Sees More Than Fluff in Paddy Pillow

A little industry pillow talk has led to an exclusive development agreement between TLC Ent. (Taweel-Loos and Company Ent.) and Paddy Pillow creator Aimee Markelz. The independent family entertainment producer will make Markelz’s hot new character the star of a variety of filmed entertainment products.

Designed for kids 2 and up, Paddy Pillow was originally devised as a communication tool. The soft, cuddly character’s songs and books are designed to help children express their feelings. Paddy Pillow plush dolls and books garnered media attention at Toy Fair 2003 and are currently available in specialty stores throughout the nation. A broad-based nationwide retail rollout is in the works.

Markelz is not only the creator of Paddy Pillow, but also the author of the Paddy Pillow book series and president of Talk Inc. "Our partnership with TLC Entertainment breathes life into Paddy Pillow and is paramount to growth for the Paddy Pillow brand," she says.

TLC Entertainment was co-founded by and Partners George Taweel and Rob Loos. Loos comments, "One of the really cool elements to Paddy Pillow is its simplicity both in Paddy’s appearance and in the way it gets to the core emotions that kids are feeling in the world today–a pretty intimidating place!"

Over the past 15 years, TLC has targeted the growing family audience with a focus on live-action and animation projects for television and home video including The All New Captain Kangaroo, McGee and Me!, The Christmas Lamb and Kids’ 10 Commandments, to name a few. The company’s direct-to-video mini-movies air in more than 80 countries worldwide and have spawned more than 100 licensed products, including books, toys and interactive games.

Chicago-based Talk Inc. is dedicated to developing and marketing products that get people talking about their feelings in order to improve relationships through more enhanced communications.